Media Advisory: UB School of Law to host Puerto Rico Day on April 16

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo School of Law and the Baldy Center for Law & Social Policy will hold a program beginning at 11 a.m. on April 16 in 509 O’Brian Hall on the UB North Campus to discuss the law school’s efforts to create legal and political solutions in post-Maria Puerto Rico.

The program, which is open to students, faculty and staff, as well as member of the community, will feature a student-focused career panel; a discussion of legal and policy solutions with experts and leaders from the University of Puerto Rico; and a celebration of the school’s new Puerto Rico Recovery Assistance Legal Clinic.

Students who participated in the UB clinic, which provided on-the-ground legal assistance in Puerto Rico earlier this year, will share their experiences and participate in the development of post-disaster solutions.

A press briefing will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in 505 O’Brian Hall to allow members of the media to interview clinic students and participants from the University of Puerto Rico.

The program will include:

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Student Career Panel
“A View from the Top: How to Build A Successful Career That Includes Pro Bono and Community Service Work.” The panel will be moderated by Bradley M. Gayton '91, group vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel for Ford Motor Company, and features Susan M. Clare, partner, King & Spalding, Atlanta, Georgia; Joanne B. Faycurry, partner, Schiff Hardin LLP, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Peter J. Fazio, partner, Aaronson Rappaport Feinstein & Deutsch, LLP, New York City; Craig A. Leslie '97, partner, Phillips Lytle, Buffalo; and Robert J Mullins, II, partner, GMC Law, LLP, Buffalo.  The panel is organized by the Clinical Legal Education Program and the Career Services Office.

1:30-3 p.m. – Panel Discussion with Experts and Leaders from the University of Puerto Rico
“Collaborating and Creating Law and Policy Solutions for Post-Maria Puerto Rico.” The discussion will be convened by Kim Diana Connolly, professor and director of the Puerto Rico Recovery Assistance Legal Clinic. Legal clinic students Jonathan Reyes Colon '19, Sarah Gardner '19, Eamon J.P. Riley '18 and David Yovanoff '18 will moderate and provide commentary.  Panelists include sustainability experts Marla Pérez Lugo, PhD, and Cecelio Ortiz García, PhD, of the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez; Walter F. Alomar Jiménez, president, Governing Board, University of Puerto Rico; and Vivian Neptune Rivera (via Skype), professor and dean, University of Puerto Rico School of Law. The panel is organized by the Puerto Rico Recovery Assistance Legal Clinic and the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy.

3:30-4:15 p.m. – Celebrating the Inaugural Puerto Rico Recovery Assistance Legal Clinic
This celebration will be moderated by Aviva Abramovsky, dean of the UB School of Law, and will include her remarks, a video presentation highlighting the students’ experience in Puerto Rico, a recognition of donor support and a chance to mingle with the clinic’s student attorneys. The celebration is organized by the Puerto Rico Recovery Assistance Legal Clinic.

For more information on this event, and the University’s collaborative efforts to bring about legal and political change in Puerto Rico, visit www.law.buffalo.edu/beyond/clinics/puerto-rico-recovery-assistance-legal-clinic.html.

The University at Buffalo School of Law’s Puerto Rico Recovery Assistance Legal Clinic is part of the law school’s Clinical Legal Education Program, providing law students with the opportunity to develop practical skills while work closely with supervising attorneys.  The Puerto Rico Recovery Assistance Legal Clinic provides practical legal research and thoughtful pro bono service, through an ongoing collaborative effort to empower a resilient Puerto Rico.